About A2 Tool Steel

We've been watching with great interest as the tool steel know as AISI A2 has been gaining popularity and a
reputation among woodworkers for its superior edge holding properties. After considerable research and
evaluation, I decided to add A2 Replacement Blades to our catalog of world-renowned HOCK
High-Carbon Steel Blades. We're offering the nine most popular replacement sizes in AISI A2 that has been
cryogenically treated for maximum edge retention.

A2 differs from our usual High Carbon Steel with the addition of significant amounts of chromium and
molybdenum. While “stainless” amounts of chromium (12% or more) make tool steel “gummy” and hard to
sharpen, the modest amount of chromium in A2 (5%) improves its toughness and abrasion resistance, but
imparts only a slight measure of corrosion resistance (like High Carbon Steel, it will rust and appropriate
preventative care must be taken.)

A2 is one of the steels that respond well to Cryogenic Treatment. This extreme cold treatment (-320F)
increases the steel’s toughness without any decrease in hardness. You get increased wear resistance without
any increase in brittleness so a Cryogenically treated blade will hold its edge longer. You can keep working
instead of sharpening.

We’ve differentiated these blades to avoid mixing them with our other blades by cutting the top corners with a
45-degree chamfer instead of our usual rounded corners. And they're marked "A2 Cryo".

Ron Hock
Hock Tools